I am getting my first health insurance in Spain. Had a look at a few and they mention grace periods where they will not provide cover. For example Axa will not cover for any hospital admittance or scans in first 6 months. So if I understand it correctly that effectively means I have no real cover for the first 6 months.....or am I understanding it incorrectly?

Also when talking with friends I came across a story where the insurance company told a customer we will not be renewing your policy. Basically the customer had to have surgery for the fourth time, they said we will cover it this time but no policy renewal. Of course no new insurance company will take the customer on as they have an existing complaint. Is this normal?

The waiting periods before an insurance company will pay for certain kinds of treatment after you first take out a policy are pretty standard and apply to all companies (unless you are transferring policies from one company to another, in which case they sometimes advertise that no waiting periods apply). With my policy, GP visits and emergency treatment were covered immediately, then the waiting periods for other types of treatment varied between 3 and 12 months. The 12 month ones related to ante-natal and obstetric care, and psychiatric treatment. They will allbe set out in the policy document. It is a way of weeding out potential claims for conditions the policy holder was already suffering from when they took out the policy.

I have heard reports from other people whose insurance companies have declined to renew their policies after they have some kind of expensive treatment, and I'm sure it does happen. After that, of course, it would be very difficult for someone to obtain alternative cover as they would then have a pre-existing condition they would have to declare.

Free at Last wrote:The waiting periods before an insurance company will pay for certain kinds of treatment after you first take out a policy are pretty standard and apply to all companies (unless you are transferring policies from one company to another, in which case they sometimes advertise that no waiting periods apply). With my policy, GP visits and emergency treatment were covered immediately, then the waiting periods for other types of treatment varied between 3 and 12 months. The 12 month ones related to ante-natal and obstetric care, and psychiatric treatment. They will allbe set out in the policy document. It is a way of weeding out potential claims for conditions the policy holder was already suffering from when they took out the policy.

I have heard reports from other people whose insurance companies have declined to renew their policies after they have some kind of expensive treatment, and I'm sure it does happen. After that, of course, it would be very difficult for someone to obtain alternative cover as they would then have a pre-existing condition they would have to declare.

fully understand that there can be waiting periods....but 6 months for any hospitalization cover is a joke. I get run over tomorrow they say no coverage!

Your insurer dropping you is illegal in some countries I am surprised it is legal here.....basically you are a customer as long as they are making money from you! I was surprised that the covergae here is substantially cheaper than I experienced in other countries...and now I know why.

El Cid wrote:Many policies are subject to policy limitations and increased premiums when you reach 65 or other ages. One that does not is Prevision Medica who do not seem to take age into account at all!

El Cid wrote:Many policies are subject to policy limitations and increased premiums when you reach 65 or other ages. One that does not is Prevision Medica who do not seem to take age into account at all!

Sid

I'm also with Prevision Medica.No cover for declared pre existing conditions.A waiting period for some cover to take effect.Both of the above stop you taking out a policy with a known, to you, condition and receiving expensive treatment the day after taking out the policy.If you are over 65 you will find the policy far more expensive than it would have been, when you reach 65, if you took out before you are 65.Annual increases are more or less in line with inflation and not age related.CheersGerry

Paddy Pumpkin wrote:fully understand that there can be waiting periods....but 6 months for any hospitalization cover is a joke. I get run over tomorrow they say no coverage!

Your insurer dropping you is illegal in some countries I am surprised it is legal here.....basically you are a customer as long as they are making money from you! I was surprised that the covergae here is substantially cheaper than I experienced in other countries...and now I know why.

Are you sure that the policy wouldn't cover hospitalisation if it was the result of an accident? Mine would have done, that's what I meant by emergency treatment not being subject to a waiting period. I would not, however, have been covered for hospitalisation for elective surgery, for example.

We are also with Prevision Medicia and can confirm that the premium didn't increase (other than the usual small annual increase) when my husband turned 65.

Some of the stories I have heard relating to insurance companies deciining to cover a policyholder once they'd had expensive treatment relate to companies in the UK, by the way. My own brother, who has BUPA cover via his employer's scheme, had to pay a thousand pounds out of his own pocket when he needed spinal surgery last year as the company said the fee charged by the surgeon who was to do the operation was too high and my borther had the option either to "shop around" for someone cheaper, or pay the difference himself - and that was a surgeon working in one of BUPA's own hospitals. I thought that was outrageous. It wasn't a policy he had taken out recently, but had been payiing the premiums for many years and this was the first cliam of any note.

Yes definitely as a back up plan. Any idea how I do it? I don't work so don't make and social security contributions. I have not yet hit government pension age so I am not entitled to use the healthcare system via that method.